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Posted on 04/16/2004 12:02:21 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 The New Global Airlift Standard The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is designed to fulfill military airlift needs well into the 21st century. A high-wing, four-engine, T-tailed aircraft with a rear-loading ramp, the C-17 can carry large combat equipment and troops or humanitarian aid across international distances directly to small austere airfields anywhere in the world. In August 2002, the U.S. Air Force extended its total C-17 order to 180, by committing to an additional 60 C-17s. This order means Boeing will design, build and deliver C-17s through at least 2008. By Mid-January 2004, 117 C-17s had been delivered, 112 to the U.S. Air Force, one to the Mississippi Air National Guard and four to the United Kingdom Royal Air Force. The U.S. Air Force declared the first C-17 squadron operational in January 1995. Since then the fleet has amassed nearly 600,000 flying hours. The C-17 has been involved in numerous contingency operations, including flying troops and equipment to Operation Joint Endeavor to support peacekeeping in Bosnia, Allied Force Operation in Kosovo, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.  In Afghanistan, C-17s have flown more than 230 humanitarian missions, airdropping more than 2.4 million ration packages to refugees as well as landing bulk foods and blankets. In addition, C-17s continue to fly daily missions carrying troops, supplies and heavy equipment into austere fields in Afghanistan and into airfields in neighboring countries. In 1998, eight C-17s completed the longest paratrooper airdrop mission in history, flying more than 8,000 nautical miles from the United States to Central Asia, dropping troops and equipment after more than 19 hours in the air, a feat repeated in 2000.  A cockpit crew of two and one loadmaster operates the C-17, which can be refueled in flight. This cost-effective flight crew complement is made possible through the use of an advanced digital avionics system and advanced cargo systems. In the cargo compartment the C-17 can carry Army wheeled vehicles in two side-by-side rows. Three Bradley infantry-fighting vehicles comprise one deployment load. Similarly, the Army's newest main battle tank, the M-1, can be carried.  The four engines are Pratt & Whitney PW2040 series turbofans, designated as F117-PW-100 by the Air Force, each producing 40,440 pounds of thrust. The engines are equipped with directed-flow thrust reversers capable of deployment in flight. On the ground, a fully loaded aircraft, using engine reversers, can back up a two-percent slope. With a payload of 160,000 pounds, the C-17 can take off from a 7,600-foot airfield, fly 2,400 nautical miles, and land on a small, austere airfield in 3,000 feet or less. The C-17 is equipped with an externally blown flap system that allows a steep, low-speed final approach and low-landing speeds for routine short-field landings. C-17s have set 33 world records – more than any other airlifter in history – including payload to altitude, time-to-climb, and short-takeoff-and-landing marks in which the C-17 took off in less than 1,400 feet, carried a payload of 44,000 pounds to altitude, and landed in less than 1,400 feet. These records were set during flight-testing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., in 2001.  In 1995, the C-17 received the prestigious Collier Trophy, symbolizing the top aeronautical achievement of 1994. In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, maker of the C-17, for business excellence. In 2002, the C-17’s assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif., was recognized by Industry Week’s Best Plants award, for being one of the top 10 in the North America. In December 2002, the C-17 Program – and its Aerospace Support unit – won the U.S. Senate’s Productivity Award for Performance Excellence. And, in April 2003, the C-17 Program won the first ever “Best of the Best” California Governor’s Award for Performance Excellence. C-17s are based at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.; McChord Air Force Base, Wash.; and Altus Air Force Base, Okla., where initial aircrew training occurs. The Air National Guard Base at Jackson, Miss., received its first of eight C-17s on Dec. 18, 2003. Between now and 2007, other new C-17 units will be established at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and March Air Reserve Base,Calif. Additional domestic basing locations will be announced by the Air Force in the near future.      |
I don't know what the big fuss is about. Clean and inspect is a lot better than the old "G.I." Saved my dad's life, just this year, as you know.
OK. OK.
In real life, I was once upon a time, a, er ... "technician."
Yeah. That's it!
It was very ... "hush, hush."
Some people actually believe that it involved aliens, and I am not kidding.
That's kinda cute, because what it really involved was ... well ... don't you know this already?
I guess I'll have to ask that question at the parent meeting. ???
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